


The Truth that Sticks

by GrowlGrowl



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Betrayal, F/M, Heavy Angst, I need a hug, If Empress Rey, Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Rey Needs A Hug, Still Worked for the Resistance tho, past relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-26 18:38:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15668958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrowlGrowl/pseuds/GrowlGrowl
Summary: Rey accepted Kylo Ren's offer but then used her position to help the Resistance take down the First Order.This is Rey confronting Kylo after she betrays him.





	The Truth that Sticks

Betrayal is the only truth that sticks. – Arthur Miller

 

Despite the cell having both running water and soap, his hair is greasy and uncombed. Rey thinks there might still be some blood in it from the battle three days prior. Kylo Ren, once Supreme Leader of the Galaxy, sits on a small cot with his back against the wall and ankles sticking out of his gray prisoner’s jumpsuit.

The guards have told her that he hasn’t eaten a thing since capture. He’ll drink the water but won’t put a single crumb in his mouth even though he knows he’ll be executed before he’s had a chance to properly starve himself.

Even though Rey knows, logically, that if Kylo could break from his cell he would, she is still nervous about confronting him. She keeps thinking about the look of absolute betrayal that he had given her just as the Revival Resistance swooped in and utterly crushed his army. Throughout her stay as his empress she had seen glimpses of the little boy that once was – when he gave her a gift she liked or when he pored through the schematics of the newest TIE Fighter in lieu of sleep – but Kylo really did look like a lost child as his empire collapsed around him.

“We had problems in the Stormtrooper program,” he speaks before she has an opportunity to. “With the troopers – some male, but mostly female – exchanging favors, food, holos, drinks, all of that… for sex.”

She knows where he is going with this and stands firm with her chin high. She won’t interrupt him or get mad. She’s the winner. He’s sitting here awaiting his death sentence because of months of her distraction, manipulation, and lies. Rey spent months in his arms, falling for him, whilst planning his demise. She can stand a verbal lashing.

“When we caught them they would be sent to reconditioning… depending on who caught them. If Phasma found them, she’d beat them a bit first. If Hux, sometimes they could get out of it by sucking his dick depending on how attractive he found them.”

He hasn’t moved an inch and he isn’t looking at her. She can’t even see his face through his hair.

“But I never wasted much time with them. Just sent them straight to reconditioning the same as any other offense… A whore is a whore is a whore.” On the last word, he finally turned to her.

Even if he took a shower he’d still look like Bantha shit. He has a huge bandaged cut on his chin from the debris of one of his destroyed Fighters and a black eye that Rey distinctly remembers giving him to get the rabid man away from her as he clawed and demanded her to say that she had nothing to do with this. As if her innocence could save his reign.

“You said you’d give me the galaxy,” she says.

“The galaxy,” he says as if reminded of what he had lost. “The entire galaxy – in exchange for you. Well, for the time I had you.” He eyes her up and down as if she was still wearing one of the tightfitting gowns he liked her to wear. “You’re the most expensive prostitute in all of history.”

“I didn’t come here to be shamed.”

“No? Then why did you come here?”

“I just…” she doesn’t have the words to give him but Rey knew she had to see him, “wanted to see you before-.”

“Before your friends line me up for the firing squad,” he glares with such hatred she’s reminded of when he’d meditate and the dark side would feed him anger, jealousy, and power. Afterward he’d scowl while he fucked her against whatever surface was closest. “I do hope you get the killing shot.”

“They haven’t decided that yet. There’s people arguing for leniency.”

He rolls his eyes as she speaks. “If you think Dameron is going to spare me the death penalty than you’re as stupid as you ever were in that backwards desert.”

“It isn’t just Poe’s decision, it’s -.”

“A joint council. A republic. Those always bow to the whims of the strongest and the slimiest while giving the peaceful delusion of choice.” At this point he stood and approached the wall of plastiglass separating them. His face looks even more gaunt and gray up close. “I give it thirty years at best.”

“At least it will be thirty years of democracy instead of a bully going around blowing up planets.”

“Meanwhile other civilizations will murder and exploit their citizens but as long as they participate in your stupid façade you’ll ignore it. Jakku was under the jurisdiction of the Republic, wasn’t it?” He uses big words whenever he wants to unnerve her during an argument. Rey had always hated it. She was never taught anything about politics on Jakku except for the fact that one person having control over all the food led to a lot of starving people.

Then he smiles faintly. Kylo doesn’t actually smile, though, but smirks. “We’ve had this argument too many times. And now it’s too late anyway.”

Since he hasn’t been eating, his face is slimmer so the skin wrinkles in places. How could someone age so much in just a few days?

“You need to eat,” says Rey. “It doesn’t matter what the council decides if you die of starvation.”

He laughs humorlessly, “I don’t have that much time.”

“Please.” She’s gotten too close to the glass and can see how her plea affects him. His eye twitches like when he wanted to give in to her demands but knew he wouldn’t. At least she knows there’s still some affection there.

Rey decides to go further, “I need you to stay alive for me.”

However, instead of acquiescence, his face goes back to the scowl from before. Kylo looks at her as if she is something disgusting – like a rotting Hut corpse or months-old veg meat. “Then why did you bring my executioners to our doorstep?”

She succeeds at maintaining eye contact but fails to conceal her tears. “I… I-.”

“You’re what? Sorry?” he scoffs and goes back to his cot to sit. “Leave, Rey.”

“I love you,” she sobs. He was never shy with his feelings – he couldn’t be when they were written all over his face. From her first night on his ship he’d told her that he loved her. He said while spooning her in the middle of the night. He said it at dinner when her lack of table manners were particularly adorable. He said it as he zipped her into a luxurious gown before a dinner with the First Order elite. He said it as he rolled on top of her to pound her so hard she’d be incoherent. He said it when she got on her knees in the middle of a supposedly empty hallway to distract him from the doorway she’d just exited where First Order codes were being stealthily transmitted to the Resistance.

However, Rey was always much more reserved. Kylo hadn’t minded and told her that’d she grow to love him once she “got over all the political hang-ups.” Whenever she got close to expressing love she would quiet herself by kissing him. She’d usually give him a chaste kiss on the cheek or lips. When she felt especially infatuated she’d initiate sex.

He had looked forward to the day in which she would verbally reciprocate his love. He never thought he’d hear it from her while sitting in a prison cell. 

“It’s too late,” is his reply.

Rey’s heart drops to her stomach. Her breathing becomes short and before she can begin hyperventilating she runs out of the room. Past the guards she makes it to an empty hallway – similar to the one a couple weeks back – and slides to the ground before her emotions completely debilitate her.

Much later, she goes to the guard room to delete the footage of her humiliation. Luckily, as a “Hero of the Resistance” when she asks a rookie guard to let her have the room for a minute they immediately comply and scramble out. It had been stupid of her to confront him. Kylo Ren is under constant surveillance and someone is bound to have watched their conversation. The whole base must be gossiping by now.

To her great surprise, though, the holo is already gone. Several times she goes back and forth between when she arrived (22:32:51) and when she left (22:40:06.) Had it really been less than ten minutes? But there was a gap. It jumps from 22:32:52 to 22:40:07 in an instant. Someone had already deleted her confession.

Rey grabs the guard duty logs and her eyes immediately find him – the entire time she was laying her heart bare her best friend Finn was watching. She breathes a sigh of relief knowing that he’d never tell another soul how this whole spy ordeal ruined her.

As she’s putting the log back in place Rey’s attention is drawn back to the footage by Kylo’s movement. Huddled on the cot, Kylo began shaking. Rey turns the volume up and hears sobs. Suddenly, Kylo jumps up to start punching the walls. He kicks the bed that’s bolted to the floor. The noises sound hysterical and violent and it’s a wonder he’s still punching and neither his hand nor the plastiglass has broken yet.

Rey watches her ex-lover lash out in a heartbroken rage until she can’t see the screen anymore because of her tears and has to listen when a bone in one of his hands finally cracks and guards rush in with a sedative catching him completely by surprise as he was so focused on making the other hand match.

“Rey.” Finn entered the room. He must have either been alerted by the guard Rey booted out or he knew she’d come here.

She immediately run into his arms, crying and whimpering and feeling so, so alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are heavily appreciated!
> 
> If you want, my Tumblr is http://hayleyruthwrites.tumblr.com/  
> I'm always looking for online friends :)


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